I think that ultimately it's a war of attrition on both sides.

The west believes that the war is for as long as Putin is alive/coherent. While it's likely some other KGB cunt will take over and do the same shit, it's also possible that someone steps in and reverses course, pulling Russia out of potential economic collapse.

Russia believes that their might will topple Ukraine because the west will only back to a certain point, and because Ukraine will likely give up control of specific areas before seeing unsustainable bloodshed. Putin will claim victory and book his place alongside the Russian elite.

Those that are suffering are the Ukrainians, watching their country get torn apart.

IMO there's potentially a third side, and that could occur thanks to Trump. If Trump alienates the rest of the west AND China, we could potentially see China align itself with Europe and Ukraine, resulting in total isolation for Russia. This is just conjecture, but if the Russian economy is close to collapse, China may view it as beneficial to align with European markets, rather than prop up a failing market.